Tag: Public Preceptors

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Letter from the College - April

By parami on Tue, 1 Apr, 2025 - 00:00

Letter from the College - April

By parami on Tue, 1 Apr, 2025 - 00:00

This month’s letter comes from Parami, one of the Deputy Chair’s of the College: Parami first met Triratna in Glasgow, Scotland in 1977 after seeing a Change your Life! Poster. After moving into a community in London, Parami went on to be ordained by Sangharakshita in 1980. She has lived her life serving Triratna, which included moving to Spain in 1992 and becoming chair of the Valencia Buddhist Centre. Since then she has become both a private and public preceptor, served...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Letter from the Chair of the College – March 2025

By Mahamati on Sat, 1 Mar, 2025 - 00:00

Letter from the Chair of the College – March 2025

By Mahamati on Sat, 1 Mar, 2025 - 00:00

Dear Order members and friends,

Formerly one needed courage to attack institutions. Now one needs courage to defend them – and still more courage to create them.

This aphorism of Sangharakshita first appeared in print in 1998 in A Stream of Stars: Reflections and Aphorisms. However, as with many of his published aphorisms, we have no information about the context in which it was first said or written -  it is quite possible that Bhante had jotted this down much earlier. Like...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Letter from the Chair – December 2024

By Mahamati on Sat, 30 Nov, 2024 - 09:34

Letter from the Chair – December 2024

By Mahamati on Sat, 30 Nov, 2024 - 09:34

Dear Order members and friends,


A year ago at the College’s annual international meeting I was surprised when my fellow College members asked me to take over from Ratnadharini, in a year’s time, as the next College Chair. However, I quite quickly adjusted and have spent much of the last year reflecting on what this responsibility requires of me, and preparing to take it on. I am grateful to Ratnadharini for her support in this handover - I admired her chairing...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chair's Letter – September

By ratnadharini on Tue, 1 Oct, 2024 - 09:00

Chair's Letter – September

By ratnadharini on Tue, 1 Oct, 2024 - 09:00

Dear Order Members and Friends,

Back in July, as part of our search for new – larger – premises for Tiratanaloka, our retreat centre for women training for ordination, the team visited a Carmelite monastery about an hour north east of London, and thought it looked very promising. A couple of weeks ago we heard our offer had been accepted, so we’re very excited and hoping for a smooth transition. If you’d like to know more you can...

Community Highlights
College of Public Preceptors

The Preceptors' College is recruiting!

By akasajoti on Fri, 30 Aug, 2024 - 14:43

The Preceptors' College is recruiting!

By akasajoti on Fri, 30 Aug, 2024 - 14:43

The Preceptors’ College is recruiting…

We are looking for an Order Member to join us some time between December – February to replace Akasajoti who has been the College Assistant for the last five years. This first role we are recruiting is full-time and will hold primary responsibility for the Preceptors’ College and play a supporting role with the International Council. 

We’re also keen to hear from anyone who might be interested in joining the team in the future. We intend to recruit a...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chair's Letter – March 2024

By ratnadharini on Sun, 31 Mar, 2024 - 20:00

Chair's Letter – March 2024

By ratnadharini on Sun, 31 Mar, 2024 - 20:00

Correction

In my March letter from the College, I wrote that ‘My Relation to the Order was the second in what Bhante intended to be a series of three reflections, the first being The History of My Going for Refuge… the third … being completed by Subhuti as Extending the Hand of Fellowship.’ Kalyanaprabha has pointed out to me that this is inaccurate, as all three texts were originally written by Bhante as papers and were delivered to the gathered Order...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

A Koan for our Times: April - October 2024

By akasajoti on Thu, 21 Mar, 2024 - 12:18

A Koan for our Times: April - October 2024

By akasajoti on Thu, 21 Mar, 2024 - 12:18

Though the many beings are numberless, I vow to save them.
Though greed, hatred and ignorance rise endlessly, I vow to cut them off.
Though the dharma is vast and fathomless, I vow to understand it.
Though the Buddha’s way is beyond attainment, I vow to embody it fully.

- a formulation of the Bodhisattva Vow, quoted in Noble Friendship, Khantipalo

What does a Buddhist Order have to offer the world in times of conflict, violence and environmental destruction? How is the...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chair's Letter – February 2024

By Vajrashura on Thu, 29 Feb, 2024 - 23:59

Chair's Letter – February 2024

By Vajrashura on Thu, 29 Feb, 2024 - 23:59

This month’s letter is written by Vajrashura, who first came across Triratna in Ireland, in 1999, at the age of 22. He was ordained in 2007 in Guhyaloka by Kulananda, and since 2009 has been the men’s Mitra Convenor for Dublin where he lives in a men’s community. He now also works for the Sikkha Project on a part-time basis and joined the College in 2020.

Hear more from Vajrashura in a talk he gave on Sadhana, White Tara...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chair's Letter – October 2023

By ratnadharini on Wed, 1 Nov, 2023 - 13:00

Chair's Letter – October 2023

By ratnadharini on Wed, 1 Nov, 2023 - 13:00

Dear Order Members and friends,

I’m writing from Mexico, where preparations are underway for the Day of the Dead celebrations, and on the fifth anniversary of Sangharakshita’s death. I’m here for the fourth Pan American Convention, which is taking place in a Benedictine monastery on the outskirts of Cuernavaca as Chintamani retreat centre is unfortunately too small for the nearly 100 or so attendees. There are Order members from Canada, in the north, to Argentina, in the...

Pages